The casino industry generates billions of dollars a year, and its enduring popularity shows no signs of slowing down. Its enduring appeal is tied to the excitement and glamour of gambling, and players are drawn to games with jackpot options and big payouts. But what keeps this massive machine of an industry running? What is it about the games that draw people in and keep them coming back, again and again?
The odds of winning a game of chance are lousy, but casinos make the games with the worst odds the most attractive by amping them up with flashing lights and bright colors. Most gamblers do not understand the odds and rely on luck. But savvy gamblers know that the odds are not a matter of blind chance. Each casino game has a mathematical expectation of profit, and the house is almost always the winner. Known as the house edge, this expected profit is computed by a team of mathematicians and computer programmers.
Despite its brutal subject, Scorsese never resorts to gratuitous violence in Casino. But the movie does use scenes of extreme cruelty to illustrate how casino employees are able to manipulate and control gamblers. Stone’s performance is also a tour de force, evoking her character’s ruthless opportunism and sense of power. Unlike the glamorous sexy-and-lame Vegas of Boogie Nights and Basic Instinct, Casino lays bare the seedier side of Las Vegas.